Di Resta clinches maiden DTM pole
Paul di Resta has taken the first pole position of his DTM career for Sunday's race at Lausitz
The Mercedes driver carried his speed from this morning's practice session into qualifying, and he is the first man other than Timo Scheider to take a pole this season.
Di Resta had set the pace in the second segment of qualifying, but Scheider looked set to grab a fourth consecutive pole when he instantly matched the Scot's best at the beginning of the crucial third session.
His time at the top was short-lived though, as di Resta went fastest with his first run, and even quicker on his second.
"I have to thank the team because this weekend the car is the best it has ever been," said the former F3 Euro Series champion. "You have to take DTM one weekend at a time, but we have been good since the start of practice and the car has been improving every time we go out."
Bruno Spengler completed a good session for Mercedes by taking second in his C-class, while championship leader Scheider had to settle for third, alongside reigning champion Mattias Ekstrom.
"We knew this track would be hard for us," said Scheider. "Overall I'm happy with P3, I think it was the best we could do. The time Paul did is really, really good. We could have been closer, but I don't know about getting pole."
Mugello winner Jamie Green will start fifth, while Martin Tomczyk, Tom Kristensen and Bernd Schneider made sure that only the 2008-spec cars got through to the final segment of qualifying, and completed the top eight.
Behind them were the four 2007-spec Audis led by Oliver Jarvis, while Ralf Schumacher was the top driver in a one-year-old Mercedes, and he will start 13th.
The German was the only driver in an older Mercedes to get through the first qualifying session, as Christijan Albers grabbed the final spot in 14th.
Mathias Lauda was given a five place grid penalty for setting his best time in yesterday's practice session under yellow flags, which relegated him to the back of the grid.
Pos Driver Car Time Gap 1. Paul di Resta Mercedes 1:17.628 2. Bruno Spengler Mercedes 1:17.892 +0.264 3. Timo Scheider Audi 1:17.954 +0.326 4. Mattias Ekstrom Audi 1:18.021 +0.393 5. Jamie Green Mercedes 1:18.163 +0.535 6. Martin Tomczyk Audi 1:18.302 +0.674 7. Tom Kristensen Audi 1:18.326 +0.698 8. Bernd Schneider Mercedes 1:18.477 +0.849 9. Oliver Jarvis Audi 1:18.572 +0.944 10. Mike Rockenfeller Audi 1:18.655 +1.027 11. Markus Winkelhock Audi 1:18.700 +1.072 12. Alexandre Premat Audi 1:18.791 +1.163 13. Ralf Schumacher Mercedes 1:19.003 +1.375 14. Christijan Albers Audi 1:19.424 +1.796 15. Maro Engel Mercedes 1:19.401 +1.773 16. Gary Paffett Mercedes 1:19.454 +1.826 17. Susie Stoddart Mercedes 1:19.664 +2.036 18. Katherine Legge Audi 1:20.079 +2.451 19. Mathias Lauda Mercedes 1:19.339 +1.711
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